A fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) could soon make their way to Tarrant County as part of a new pilot program that hopes to “electrify” the county’s transportation.
Tarrant County officials announced that they had approved a bid to purchase up to a half dozen EVs for future use. The purchase list of possible EVs includes the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and both the Chevy Bolt EV and Electric Utility Vehicle (EUV).
The bid price for the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck was slightly under $60,000, and the Chevy Bolt EV, which was the lowest-cost model, received a bid of $32,550, according to reporting by CBS DFW. Although officials requested bids for 13 different EVs, Tarrant County only received bids back for four.
Officials will have roughly 6-12 months to hammer out a cohesive plan for the EVs before finalizing their purchase and delivery. County officials are now tasked with determining what the EVs will be used for and where the infrastructure to charge them will come from.
Tarrant County’s Mobility Coordinator Susan Young believes the new initiative will attract future grant funding for charging stations as well as other crucial EV infrastructure development, despite officials not having a current plan for the fleet.
“With electric vehicle fleet adoption, fleet managers will no longer need to budget for oil changes, transmission fluid flushes, or other engine fluid replacements,” Young wrote in a report to commissioners. “When all the factors are calculated, the total cost of operation provides a potential for long-term savings for Tarrant County.”
The aim of the commission’s policy is to explore “electrification benefits” for its fleet, with a focus on reducing emissions, improving health outcomes, and realizing long-term cost savings on vehicle maintenance.
Tarrant County Commissioners Devan Allen and Roy Charles Brooks both serve on the North Texas Electric Transportation Compact. The group aims to provide a mechanism for governments, large employers, and educational institutions to reduce transportation-related emissions through the electrification of their operations.
We must “work to educate the broader community about the benefits of electrification,” Allen said. “You’ve got to start somewhere. We’ve got to see what works, what’s going to work.”
A Tarrant County task force is charged with developing concrete plans for the pilot program before a final purchase decision by officials is made later next year.
The task force identified EV pickup trucks as a good entry point, but low availability forced the group to expand what other EV models to consider.
The EVs will be purchased through the county’s general fund.
